


Up To No Good

by knockoutqueenoftheunderworld



Category: Nancy Drew (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Amortentia, F/F, F/M, M/M, Scents & Smells
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-25
Updated: 2020-05-25
Packaged: 2021-03-03 03:48:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,692
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24378265
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/knockoutqueenoftheunderworld/pseuds/knockoutqueenoftheunderworld
Summary: Joe’s never had such a hard time catching his breath when there's so much glorious air surrounding him, he just wants to inhale it, to feel it rush in and out of his lungs-Or: the scent of Amortentia turns Joe's world upside down. It's awful, and then it isn't.
Relationships: George Fayne/Deirdre Shannon, Joe Hardy/Sonny Joon, Nancy Drew/Frank Hardy, Ned Nickerson/Henry Bolet Jr.
Comments: 5
Kudos: 17





	Up To No Good

**Author's Note:**

> special thanks to [my girl shay](http://littlemisssherlockholmes.tumblr.com) for the inspiration that is now buried under thousands of discord messages

Of course the bubbling white liquid wouldn't be where Frank had told him it was.

Joe has no ulterior motives, he just wants to see it. Smell it.

From what George told him of their Potions lesson that day, Joe has to get his hands - nose - on the Amortentia.

Joe can only imagine how many shades of red Frank had turned after stuttering out what he smelled: “For example, I smell frankincense, old books, and -”

George had laughed, and somehow some of the Slytherins began snickering too. 

Joe knows only one girl that spends so much time in the library, hours burning incense in her room. And it's not like Frank is subtle about his crush on Ravenclaw’s own Nancy Drew.

Joe’s always had a penchant for doing dumb things, and, y’know, he wants to believe in some kinda soulmate bullshit because he’s a romantic at heart and he _really, really_ hopes he doesn’t smell Bess’ soft perfume because she’s a fucking babe but he ships Ned and Bess _so hard_ -

And then he catches it, the best thing to ever reach his nose. Joe lets his senses guide him over to the locked door of the Potions closet.

“Idiot,” Joe smirks. “ _Alohamora_.”

The door swings open, and the fumes become so strong that Joe thinks he’s hyperventilating, he can’t get enough of that perfumed air into his lungs -

Suddenly he’s standing over the cauldron of shining white liquid as it bubbles all on its own, no heat source to be found.

 _It smells like chocolate,_ Joe thinks, and it’s a familiar scent accompanied by the feeling of something crunching between his teeth, something he’s experienced, something he’s _tasted_ -

The electric zing of an energy drink overwhelms Joe’s senses, and as he licks his lips his tongue tingles with something so sweet, so sugary… _cotton candy_. 

Joe’s eyes start to swim, he can hardly breathe. Maybe he should lay down, rest his body. He’s never had such a hard time catching his breath when there's so much glorious air surrounding him, he just wants to _inhale_ it, to feel it rush in and out of his lungs-

* * *

He wakes up in his own bed, and he feels almost hungover but mostly still drunk.

Joe rolls to his side, eyes automatically falling to Chet, snoring away on the next bed over.

But he can’t shake the feeling that something is… different somehow.

Joe gets his answers when he stumbles down to the Gryffindor common room and George shoves him down onto an armchair.

“Tell me why Frank and I had to drag your sorry ass here at _three in the morning_ ,” she hisses.

Joe opens his mouth, closes it, reconsiders.

“You know why,” Frank says to George, elbowing her out of the way so he can get in his brother’s face. “Amortentia is the most powerful love potion in the world, what the hell makes you think that it’s safe to go sniffing around-”

“Did Nancy tell you that?” Joe snipes before he can pause to actually _think_ , fuck.

“Shut up, Joe,” Frank snaps, and he’s already stomping away before Joe can think of a single goddamn thing to say so he can come back from that.

“You’re lucky that Chet warned us that you were out,” George says, settling down onto the couch. “You were delirious when we found you last night.”

Joe takes a moment to digest this.

“C’mon, we need to get to breakfast,” George says.

And, uh, how can Joe say no to that?

* * *

Joe takes his first step into the Great Hall ten minutes later, and his whole world grinds to a halt when he hears it.

_Pop. Hiss._

The sound of a can being opened.

As if in slow motion, Joe turns to the Slytherin table where the purebloods and their pals sit. There’s a pink can innocently resting on the table between Sonny Joon and Deirdre Shannon.

_Fuck._

Deirdre is _scary_ , okay, she’s in Frank’s year and could easily beat him in a duel. Or a fistfight. Joe’s not afraid to admit he’d volunteer Frank to be his human shield against Deirdre’s fiery rage.

Sonny Joon is a Metamorphmagus, changing his appearance at will, but he’s looked mostly the same since Joe’s known him. He’s always been beautiful. The one thing he changes on a regular basis is his hair, which is a lovely mix of purple and green this week-

This is a Very Bad Thing. 

Hahaha, Joe’s not having a crisis-

“You good?” Henry interrupts Joe's not-crisis. His gray eyes are barely visible through black fringe, and there’s something almost like concern in his tone.

“Yeah, man, let’s eat,” Joe says after a beat. He doesn’t wait for Henry to reply, leading their resident Goth to the Gryffindor table.

* * *

They’re doing partner work in Herbology when Bess asks quietly, “So, what did you smell?”

Joe almost drops the dragonplant he’s holding and flinches as it starts to sob, but Bess strokes its stems and it settles almost immediately. “What are you talking about?” Joe asks, louder than intended.

Some of his classmates glance over at him, curious.

Joe places the dragonplant in its pot, trying to steady his heartbeat. Bess smoothes soil around it. The fronds reach towards her as if she’s the sun, and with the way light is streaming through the greenhouse windows she looks radiant and beautiful in her yellow uniform. More than usual, anyway.

Joe wonders if Bess drinks Krolmeister Energy.

“George tells me everything,” Bess replies, oblivious to Joe spacing way out into the galaxy.

Joe goes to put his face in his hands, but remembers with a jolt that he’s got dragonplant residue on his gloves.

“Tell me,” Bess whines. “You’re the closest thing I have to a gal pal!”

Joe sighs and wrings his hands, which, _what the fuck_ , he’s never felt so off before. He clenches his fingers into a fist instead.

“Fine,” he says. He drops his voice. “Energy drinks, chocolate, and a breath of fresh air.” His heart stutters as he describes it out loud for the first time.

Bess frowns. “That last one is pretty generic. Is there anywhere you’ve been that you’ve felt that?”

“It was familiar…” Joe says. “And… it was cold. Chilly.”

“Winter air maybe?” Bess suggests, whispering a quick _incendio_ for their dragonplant. “Maybe you should ask Nancy about it - she’s a genius with these kinds of things.”

“Don’t sell yourself short,” Joe says, turning to grab his trowel.

“Joe!” Bess cries. “Watch Frederick!”

“Who?”

* * *

Joe spends the next two hours in the hospital wing. He's been set on fire by a plant that apparently has a name now. This is shaping up to be one of the most humiliating days of his life.

“Joe?”

“Hey Nance,” Joe says, turning to see her perched on one of those uncomfortable hospital chairs. “Long time no see!”

“I’m glad to see you’re healing quickly,” Nancy says, her voice just the right side of dry. She leans back.

“Yeah, Mr. Bluefoot gave me this potion - aw, _fuck_.” Joe realizes his mistake too late when a half-smile appears on Nancy’s face.

“Bess told me you needed help figuring out your potion problem.”

Joe rolls his eyes. “It’s not a _problem_ , okay, I just-”

“You know who it is,” Nancy nods to herself, turning a bit sleuthy around the edges, a look she sports anytime she can sense a mystery. “Or you have a suspicion.”

“Look, I’m sure lots of people drink Krolmeister Energy, okay?”

“Uh-huh.” Nancy’s obviously creating a comprehensive list of suspects in her head.

“Don’t.”

“Too late!”

Joe knows that she _will_ run with this forever, she’s Nancy Fucking Drew. “Fine, I’ll tell you everything, as long as you _keep it under wraps._ ”

Nancy’s smile turns positively _feral_.

“And you have to tell me about your Amortentia experience,” Joe finishes. What can he say, he likes Nancy and wouldn’t mind having her as a sister-in-law.

Nancy actually pauses at this, face carefully neutral but staring hard into Joe’s soul.

“Deal,” Nancy says at last. “I smelled grass, old books and the Hogwarts Express.”

“Well that could be anyone!” Joe sighs, but continues, “Everyone here hangs out on the Quidditch pitch, reads books and rides the train!”

Nancy just shrugs. Knowing her she figured out her scents in thirty seconds. “And you?”

Maybe if he says it as fast as possible this interrogation will be over soon, and Nancy can go back to being, y'know, his normal friend. “Chocolate, energy drinks, cold air.”

“I'll see you later.”

And then she's walking away, talking to herself. 

Nancy’s intense, but she will be the _best_ sister-in-law.

* * *

Joe likes to think he knows where his friends hang out, but he can't find George for the life of him. He’s looked in the Great Hall, the Gryffindor common room, even on the outskirts of the Forbidden Forest.

George usually tells him when she’s heading up a banned activity. But Joe found the Quidditch pitch completely free from paint bombs, and all of the bleachers are solid, not turned into rubber (yeah, that’s a story Joe doesn’t like to think about).

He wanders his way around the grounds, but doesn’t see the shooting spells of a duel or hear students cheering on an actual, physical fight.

Only when it’s nearing twilight does he sit down in the courtyard for a rest. Joe catches a glimpse of short brown hair in the corner of his eye.

And - wait, George is half-hidden in an alcove, huddled with somebody dressed in a green sweater and a short black skirt. The whole thing looks very shifty, and for one wild moment Joe thinks they're doing a drug deal or smoking something, but then they turn, bodies moving together, and he gets an eyeful.

 _Shit_. That is definitely George making out with a Slytherin. There are hands _everywhere._ Even from a distance, Joe swears he can hear a moan. 

Something hits his stomach like a sledgehammer, something Joe identifies as _Cannot Cope With This_ and its little brother _Nope, nope, nope_. So he takes his leave and scurries in the direction of his dormitory.

* * *

Joe barely blurts out the Gryffindor password and nearly falls down the stairs as he stumbles on another surprise: a Hufflepuff jacket flung haphazardly on the banister. 

Joe takes a deep breath in through his nose, waits a beat, releases it.

“Take these off.” Joe hears someone whisper, and _oh Merlin they’re on the couch facing the fire and Joe can’t see who’s lying there and how can he make a quick escape_ fuck -

And then Henry is sitting up, arching his back, undoing his cufflinks as another pair of hands work his buttons off. 

Joe wants to die.

Henry leans down to kiss his mystery partner and that’s when the GothTM finally sees his roommate.

“Hey Joe,” Henry says, cool as a cucumber, but whoever he’s straddling screeches and they both gracelessly flop to the floor.

“... _Ned?_ ” Joe asks faintly. The blushing Hufflepuff pulls himself to his feet, snatches his jacket, and _runs_. “Uh, see you later?” Joe says to the empty space.

Big Yikes.

Henry stands up slower. “Cockblocking asshole,” he mutters, but there’s pink on his cheeks.

Joe’s mouth opens and closes. “Look man,” he finally starts. Henry seems to brace himself as though he’s expecting to get punched. “Do whatever - _who_ ever - you want, but, uh, maybe don’t do it in a public area.” His tone comes out amused and hopefully encouraging.

“Got it,” Henry replies.

If Joe were a stronger man, he would reassure Henry and stay up into the night helping him work through his insecurities, but tonight he can’t work up the energy. “We’ll talk in the morning, okay?”

Henry only nods.

Joe’s a terrible person.

* * *

“Is it just me, or is this whole Amortentia thing making everyone go a little crazy?”

Bess and Ned are sitting on the half-wall facing the courtyard. Nancy's lounging on the grass forcefully crossing off items on her checklist. Joe, Frank, and George are seated on a blanket, midway through a game of Exploding Snap.

George shrugs as if Joe's statement has nothing at all to do with her secret rendezvous yesterday.

“It's, uh,” Frank says, “Well, it feels like a sign, I guess? Clarity. Confirming what you already suspected.” he sets down a card - a Manticore.

George nods absently, throwing out a Bowtruckel. “Giving you a push to finally make a move.”

The cards pop, sending tiny sparks into the air. Ned and Bess start. “Damn it,” Joe growls. George shuffles the cards.

“So, uh, what did you guys catch a whiff of?” Ned asks.

As if on cue, everyone - aside from Bess - instantly stiffens.

Ned avidly avoids Joe's gaze.

“I'll start!” Bess breaks the silence. “Nothing, because I'm not a seventh year or a troublemaker.”

Frank and Nancy laugh at that. They look at each other for a second and then turn in opposite directions.

 _When_ did Joe's life turn into a quadruple romcom?

No, triple. Because Joe can't deal with his own confused feelings right now.

George sighs. “Cherry, lakewater, spicy vanilla-jasmine.”

“Sounds like perfume notes,” Nancy remarks, opening a new page in her notebook and scribbling furiously.

George rolls her eyes. “And you, Ned?”

“Uh, dirt, hair spray, chamomile.”

Frank gives Ned a Look. “Chamomile, huh?”

“Joe got into the same room as the Amortentia and pretty much passed out,” George adds.

Bess frowns at her cousin, and then at Joe. “You never told me about that part!”

Joe handles that the same way he's dealt with everything else - getting up and running away. 

* * *

Joe throws himself into his lessons that day, concentrating so hard in Transfiguration that it freaks out his deskmate, Nigel. Then again, several Ravenclaws are pretty shook when they discover Gryffindors can actually _focus._

It's evening when Joe wanders up several sets of stairs. Maybe hanging out in the Astronomy Tower will clear his head.

There's a soft light emitting from underneath the door, but Joe's never been one to run from trouble. The door creaks open with a small push; with Joe's first step there's a _crunch_ under his shoe. 

Joe scoops it up, knowing the texture in an instant: a candy bar wrapper. 

“Hey, sorry about that,” a masculine voice says. “There's no trash can in here, I pick 'em up before classes start.” Joe catches a quick flash of pink in his peripheral. 

Is that…

“Hey, Hardy, right?”

“Joon?” Joe chokes, covering it with a cough. Sonny's sitting on a windowsill, legs hanging in the open air.

Sonny snorts. “Want one?” He swings back into the tower in one slick movement, holding something out. In direct moonlight Joe can read _KoKo Kringle_ on the packaging.

Joe takes the chocolate, careful not to let his fingers touch Sonny's skin.

There's a smile on Sonny's face, but his disposition is somber. His brown eyes hold Joe's for an intense moment.

Joe peels open his KoKo Kringle. It tastes just like he remembers, rich and sweet with a distinctive crunch.

It tastes like his encounter with the Amortentia.

Joe flicks his eyes to Sonny; Sonny immediately looks away, like he's embarrassed.

A cold wind sweeps across the tower. Joe shivers inadvertently, taking a deep breath in through his nose-

And there it is, the crisp night air. Joe knows it like he knows his mother's face, like he knows Frank's hopes and dreams, like he knows _Incendio_ , the fire-bringing spell.

Joe gapes at Sonny.

“You… you smell like...” Joe can't help but lean forward a little, like a fucking _freak_. People don't just _smell_ people.

Sonny's eyebrows raise. “You wear hair gel.”

Confused, Joe nods.

“You drink those god-awful caramel lattes-”

“Wait-”

“And you always smell like smoke.” Sonny stands, striding through the distance between them. He's so close Joe can count the colors in his eyes. “Stop me if I'm in the wrong here.”

“What-”

And then Sonny Joon is kissing him, and he tastes like Krolmeister Energy and cotton candy and KoKo Kringles and gasping for breath in a sunset sky-

He kisses Sonny back.

**Author's Note:**

> .........that's gay  
> [my tumblr](http://knockoutqueenoftheunderworld.tumblr.com).  
> 


End file.
